I would guess that the school chose the DAS-II because only 2 of 6 subtests, and 1 of 3 clusters, have a verbal component.

The TONI is a matrix reasoning test, no other parts. The UNIT is a bit more complex - it includes visual reasoning, spatial construction, visual memory, and mazes. But again, you can get an idea of whether these will be useful by looking at your DD's performance on the nonverbal parts of the DAS. If those were also low, you may want to put more effort into finding a tester who your child will click with, or who is willing to do a session or two before the formal testing to increase your DC's comfort, rather than focusing on which test was used.

In addition, to diagnose an intellectual disability there needs to be an assessment of adaptive behavior, using a structured interview like the Vineland. If your child has age-appropriate adaptive behavior, or if the weaker areas are clearly related to the language delays, then that should be taken into consideration.

Anonymous wrote:School psych here.... Ask for a non-verbal IQ test due to speech issues... The UNIT or the Toni-2 are used with children with significant speech issues. I would then have her re-evaluated in several years after her speech issues are less impacting, with the Wisc-iv...it's the most studied cognitive test and most typically used by psychologists.

Knowing my child's apraxia, why wouldn't the school use this test for my daughter in the first place?, makes sense to me! Thank so much, I will find a place that administeres this IQ test,..

Ed Consultant here -

I agree with the School Psych and asking for the Non-Verbal IQ.

You might also consider the Stanford-Binet V since it doesn't focus on the timed component. The SB-V will give you a well-rounded view on your DC's abilities.

The WPPSI/WISC is a more traditional, verbal, timed assessment which might not be the best for your child.

On the other hand, as a PP pointed out, the lower the score, the more services the county will give your child.

You can also look at the subscales of the DAS-II. There are three: the verbal ability cluster is entirely oral (define vocabulary words, verbal reasoning), the nonverbal reasoning cluster is matrix reasoning and sequential/quantitative reasoning (both pattern recognition of a sort, both require the child to point, not answer in words), and the spatial ability cluster requires no language but responses have a motor component (either making designs with blocks or drawing shapes you just saw). The pattern of scores will tell you whether language was a significant issue (is the verbal cluster much lower than the other two).

School psych here.... Ask for a non-verbal IQ test due to speech issues... The UNIT or the Toni-2 are used with children with significant speech issues. I would then have her re-evaluated in several years after her speech issues are less impacting, with the Wisc-iv...it's the most studied cognitive test and most typically used by psychologists.

Given what you have described, it is unlikely that any standardized test will target your child's strengths. Perhaps you should consult a skilled. Experienced child psychologist before continuing with testing and evualuation.

Anonymous wrote:OP,

Do you want your DS to continue with special ed services and if she tested low will she be granted them?

Did your DS ever have a full neuropsych evaluation? I don't think the standard IQ tests yield very much in terms of actual needs.

Also, if you decide to proceed, I'd choose your tester carefully. When I had my SN kid take the WPPSI, the tester was a newly minted Phd who didn't have a clue how to assess my kid. The test was a huge waste of money.

I was planning to take my daughter to Barry Ekdom in Fairfax, but she is not Five years old yet, so we decided to wait a little longer. I actually posted a question some time ago re if anyone had any advice on what was the appropriate age for this neuropsych eval and it seemed that the consensus was tha 5 was too young...that I should wait until 6

Anonymous wrote:Hoagie's Gifted page has a page that inventories common tests and gives a summary about them:


http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm

Great! Thanks so much!

I am the one who posted the question initially. My daughter will be five in April 15. She is currently attending a special educationn PK, she does have a developmental delay and the IQ test the school administered labeled her as mild ID. SHe has extreme stranger anxiety and will not respond to anyone that she is not familiar with, she completely shuts down! -- that is why I think the IQ scores were so low, also she does have speech apraxia (people that are familiar with her can understand her words, others will not) so I am not sure how the school Psychologist who never met my daughter before was able to understand her verbal answers. Even though I was uncomfortable signing her IEP with the ID label, I did it and now I am second guessing myself and want a second opinion about her cognitive abilities. Yes, we were really close to do the Neurospycholgical Evaluation next month but since she is only five we decided to wait a little longer. HOwever, the IQ score is crucial since based on that her school placement for Kindergarten will be decided.

MC

Do you know why they did the DAS instead of the Wechsler? I'm just curious...our school psych thought that the DAS would be more appropriate than the Wechsler for my 6 yo because the Wechsler is very verbally loaded vs the DAS. Also, at age 7 the Wechsler questions gets significantly harder from a question perspective.

Anonymous wrote:Hoagie's Gifted page has a page that inventories common tests and gives a summary about them:


http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm

It also includes links so that you can find out more about each test.

Hoagie's Gifted page has a page that inventories common tests and gives a summary about them:


http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm

OP,

Do you want your DS to continue with special ed services and if she tested low will she be granted them?

Did your DS ever have a full neuropsych evaluation? I don't think the standard IQ tests yield very much in terms of actual needs.

Also, if you decide to proceed, I'd choose your tester carefully. When I had my SN kid take the WPPSI, the tester was a newly minted Phd who didn't have a clue how to assess my kid. The test was a huge waste of money.

The WPPSI (under 6) and WISC (6-16) are similar to the DAS-II - some very similar subtests, some which are different. They should work well for someone doing a second opinion, and are acceptable to pretty much any school. In addition, you can't have an independent tester use the exact same tests within one year - the results would not be valid.

Hope this helps.

My daughter was administered two standardized assessments: Differential Abilities Scale (DAS-2) and Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test as part of her triennial re-evaluation review to determine continued eligibility for special education services. After further consideration, my husband and I have decided we would like a second opinion (She tested really low). We are not requesting the school system to fund this test. The place I contacted offers the following intelligence tests: WPPSI and WISC, depending on the age. Does anyone one if score wise, are these tests comparable to the ones the school performed? Or do I need to find a provider that administers the exact tests that the school used?